Posts Tagged ‘Inventions’

I bet you thought it was going to happen. I bet you thought I was going to let it happen. Yeah, right!

Go an entire month without posting a single…well…post? That’s how shaky things have been. They can sake, as long as they don’t topple.

It almost happened, but just like paying taxes on the final day, which happens to be tomorrow and I’ll tell you about that later, I am down to the wire, but in time. But in time. But in time.

Oh, I haven’t forgotten.

Now, this was what I was going to say. Yet again, in the 20th Century,Spainwould shake the very foundations of the scientific and technological world with and bequeath to modern society an invention so profound that its effects are still being felt by me today. Literally.

It’s the Chupa Chups, the Spanish version of the lollipop, and I just happened to have one in my mouth as we speak. That’s how recent its reverberations can be felt. It’s a cherry-flavored one and it’s been pretty good for the first thirty seconds, but now I am getting a little tired of it and wish do away with it elegantly like tossing it over the balcony.

I even took a picture of it seconds before its execution. Its death. I placed it on a nice bare background for minimalist effect and artistic simplicity representing the futility of life as a sucker.

The Chupa Chups is almost round like a globe, though it has a thicker band protruding around its equator. You’ll have to excuse the imagery. This product makes up the second tine of the great trident of Spanish inventions that I have heard about so many times throughout my life here. The others are the modern submarine and the mop and bucket, if you haven’t been following this fascinating series.

When I first heard this bit of trivia, I expressed my admiration out of kindness and politeness, because it was quaint, and because anyone who openly claims with pride that their country boldly ventured where no candy maker had before, or so they say, certainly garners my praise.

I say that’s sweet, no pun intended, and move on. Then after hearing it for the tenth time, I begin to wonder just what kind of information is meted out in those social studies classes, because it’s nice to know that the Chupa Chups has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, it’s another thing that it should earn such an honored spot in the kingdom of technological advancement. It’s a fine contribution to society, especially for those in the dental service sector, but no more so than thousands of others. Robert Kearn ofDetroit,Michigan, invented the intermittent windshield wiper back in1963, aprodigious creation from a driver’s point-of-view, and yet most Americans do not know this, just like they are about the vast majority of human ingenuity.

But there you have it, a world where even the simplest things can share the limelight.

As to be expected, the ubiquitous lollipop did not see earthly light for the first time in Iberian lands. And, as to be expected, it is nearly impossible to determine just where it did.

The modern version of the lollipop has been attributed to a man named George Smith, who owned a candy company inNew Haven,Connecticut, my homestate. That really is a blow to the Spanish. By the way, New Haven also is said to be the birthplace of the hamburger, not dreamed up by some kooky-looking clown, so it should be noted that this otherwise discreet coastal city on the East Coast of the United States noted otherwise for its fine university, Yale, has also been one of the most fertile creators of modern pop gastronomy.

Chances are, though, the lollipop had been invented decades, if not centuries, before as its concept, eating without getting your hands all dirty, is hardly a novel one. Haven’t you ever seen those Middle Ages movies with the Vikings plunging their swords into chunks of the roasted meat the size of footballs?

It was apparently this issue that prompted our Spanish hero, Enric Bernat, to come up with a similar answer to the age-old issue of what to do about the children tackling with sticky food. He had witnessed a mother scolding her child for getting his hands all messy after a bout with some sweets. For the most part, this has always been a debatable motive for telling your kid off, because most candy is simply not designed with a kid’s mind in mind. They kind of assume the little one will handle the goodie responsibly, which is really asking a lot of any tot. So, the kid is given free reign to behave under the toughest of circumstances and gets told off to boot.

To resolve this problem. Bernant devised a candy which kept the child’s hands away from the cause of all the stress. Then he took his newfangled treat to stores all over the country requesting that it be placed on the counter right next to the register and, yes, within reach of a child. This was a major breakthrough in marketing.

The campaign paid off, and Bernant’s idea quickly became a hit and sales rocketed. One source says that the annual production is about 12 million per year, which comes in at about 33,000 lollipops a day. You would think that it would cover costs, but apparently not. The company closed down a big plant inAsturiasin 2011 and there is only one left in the country. These things out to be protected by the national heritage board.

I have felt for a long time that one of the best ways to learn about another country’s culture is to acquire little by little the common knowledge known by the everyday citizen. I was tempted to say originally that knowledge that every schoolchild knows, “In 1492,Columbussailed the ocean blue” and all that; but sometimes that is a dangerous thing. Once, I read the results of a study on American high school students general understanding of general knowledge and decided I needed to be more prudent with my assertions. Consider, for example, the question “When didColumbusdiscoverAmerica?” The correct answer in the multiple-choice quiz was “Before1776”, which gave the test-taker 284-year leeway for good measure; a generous margin of error when you think about it. Even then, only 35% managed to get that one right. Two-thirds were unable to come within three centuries of the truth.

I somehow doubt that things have gotten much better since then, so I will broaden my assumptions a bit. In any event, what I am referring to is the kind of knowledge that is thrown around freely and taken as fact regardless of whether or not it is true. No one disputes it, which is true of most information, and they perpetuate the word by propagating it throughout the land. They pass it on to friends and family. That’s where lore comes from. It’s where legend is born.

Take inventions, for example. Being the birthplace of a particular invention can often be a source of pride. Back in America, we are taught that Edison came up with the first electric light bulb and the phonograph, to name just two, and Bell (while Scottish) had been living in America for years when he devised and patented his telephone; and let’s not forget the Wright brothers, whose fleeting departure from the earth upon a wafer-light aircraft proved once and for all that motorized flight could be achieved. Of course, all of these landmarks in technology have been debated by those who feel others were the true firsts, and we cannot leave out the scores of anonymous figures whose minor technical contributions led to the great breakthroughs. But I am not hear to talk about that; I am hear to discuss just what conventional wisdom says and what it might say about each culture.

So, allow me to repeat this. Take inventions, for example. Take inventions inSpain. When asked to name any inventions that this country has produced in, say, the last two centuries, invariably 90% will come up with the following list, in any order, mind you: The submarine, the mop (fregona), and the Chupa-chups lollipop.

“Really?” I believe I said upon hearing such ostentation for the first time and trying to think of what to say without sounding rude or condescending. “That’s great. I didn’t know that.”

You have to watch your step when confronted with these situations. Laughing won’t get you anywhere unless you are well-acquainted with the culture and the people you are talking to. If not, you may find them using the mop in an inventive way on your body. Even when you try to question the truth to any degree, you have to take care as to how you express it. I once mentioned to a friend from Cartegena, while in Cartegena, that the first submarine was really invented inAmericaback in the Revolutionary War. That was a crock, because the history of underwater vessels goes back at least 150 years before the Continental Army tried to employ one. But that has never prevented propaganda from getting in the way.

It was a man-powered ball called The Turtle. It was meant to sink enemy ships by screwing a hole in the hull and sticking an explosive inside. The Turtle was shaped like an acorn, and possessed the maneuverability and speed of one, which explains why the endeavor failed. Nonetheless, it was an innovation in warfare that would become extremely effective once the mechanical technology allowed for it.

My friend was skeptical. He deftly pointed out that the seacraft I was referring to was not motorized and therefore could not be considered a true submarine. That was where Peral came into the picture. His brainchild is considered to be the first fully-operational submarine in history. My friend had a point so there was no sense in pursing the debate, but it did make me wonder just about what constituted an invention. The first one, at least. One of the many manias of mankind is to determine a first for everything. Many times that date, name or place don’t correspond to the truth, and even sometimes we are fully aware of it. But that doesn’t stop us from spreading the myth.

For example, it is now practically accepted that Hyram Bingham did not discover the Lost City of Machu Picchu. In fact, the ruins which were buried beneath the tropical brush for centuries never probably disappeared from the historical memory of the locals, who apparently knew of its existence. In the mid-1800s, a German entrepreneur attempted to make a business out of the remains, and in 1903, when the Wright brothers were lifting off the sands of theNorth Carolina beaches, another Peruvian actually engraved his name on one of the rocks as proof of arriving there first. Bingham didn’t make it there for another decade. But that doesn’t prevent the world from crediting this man with the highest honor a discoverer could have: discovery. It is undeniable that he truly appreciated the importance of the find and deserves credit for bringing it to the attention of the rest of the World. Something similar happened toColumbus.

The mop is no different. The concept of a floor swab that has a pole attached to an absorbent base had been around for well over a hundred years, with many improvements being made in the Unite States in the late 19th Century, about 60 years before Manuel Joldán presented his patent inEurope. And let’s not forget that Mickey Mouse took on hundreds in the move Fantasia, so it is safe to say the objected existed.

That makes sense because I had trouble imaging that half the world didn’t finally get off its knees from the kitchen floor until the time Ike was president. But then again, Swiss women didn’t receive the vote until the 1970s, so you never know.

Joldán did not deny this. In fact, he got the idea from his stay in theUnited Statesas an aeronautic engineer. He saw its practicality and took it home. So he can’t get credit in tat sense. What he did do was turn the whole product into one package. The mop itself, along with the plastic bucket fitted with the meshed wringer fitted into place with which to squeeze out the dirty water. That was the innovation and quite possibly the difference. Sort of like the turtle and the Peral’s submarine.

This neat and tidy design was a rage, and it is said that when Joldán and his associates sold the company in the 1980s, 60 million fregonas had been sold.

Still, the fact that this goes down as one of the top three never fails to amuse me. I am sure that Spaniards have come up with creations that compete with some World’s finest, but why the old mop and pail should stand out among the pack is beyond me. I admire a country who can take national pride in these kinds of objects, though. I doubt the Americans, English, Germans, French or Italians would ever admit as much. It would probably be beneath their dignity. It’s either coming up with the heliocentric theory or nothing. Something essential.

But the mop is essential. It is an essential part of every Spanish kitchen. I don’t know one without it. To use it is to be not only a part of Spanish history, but also a part of its culture.

You may feel that I am trying to be particularly provocative by posting a picture like this so close Mother’s Day, but the idea was entirely coincidental. Who invented Mother’s Day anyway? When was it invented inSpain? And if so, did the Spaniards add a touch, like a motor or a set, that makes it so Spanish. I don’t know yet. It’s the day that mothers should be truly appreciated. Are they? Maybe it’s a legend or maybe it’s true.